Natalio Felix and his wife, Janice Santos, had been having problems days before the 41-year-old city man allegedly strangled her inside their Huntington Avenue home in June 2011, according to testimony today in Mr. Felix's murder trial in Middlesex Superior Court.

It was also revealed today in court testimony that the couple's two children, 12

and 10 at the time of the killing, were home and heard a commotion behind a doorway, only to find Mr. Felix emerge without their mother.

Mr. Felix walked into the Worcester police station on the morning of June 8, 2011, and allegedly told an officer working in the Services Division that he had killed his wife. According to testimony by Officer Nayla Holmes, Mr. Felix walked into the station and motioned to her before making the statement. Another officer was called to assist her, and detectives were immediately called to come down to the lobby.

Police found Ms. Santos' body on the second floor of the couple's home, at 16 Huntington Ave., about 10 a.m., an hour after Mr. Felix walked into the police station.

Ms. Santos, 37, was a supervisor of support staff at Worcester Superior Court Probation Department.

Two days before his wife was killed, Mr. Felix left the family home and went to live with his mother and stepfather in Worcester.

Ebony Felix, Mr. Felix's niece, was visiting her grandparents when Mr. Felix began staying there. She testified that her uncle seemed depressed and that he texted Ms. Santos several times on June 6. Ms. Santos texted back.

There were discussions of financial problems, Ms. Felix said. She testified that it appeared the couple were moving toward a divorce.

Eventually, on the morning of June 8, Ms. Felix said she received messages from her uncle asking her to tell people he was sorry.

Tina Rodriguez, a close friend of Mr. Felix, testified that on June 7, she and Mr. Felix exchanged text messages about him leaving the house. Ms. Santos allegedly had told Ms. Rodriguez that her husband had left the family home, and Mr. Felix apparently wanted to know what his wife was telling people, according to the messages read aloud in court.

During the text messaging, which occurred around 8 the night before the killing; Ms. Rodriguez told Mr. Felix not to do anything idiotic.

"Remember you have children with her," she told Mr. Felix. "Don't do anything stupid."

Testimony is continuing this afternoon. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Daniel J. Bennett. The defense lawyer is Debra D. DeWitt.